Food for Fighter Jets! What a shitty idea! Brought to you by the few greedy bastards it will benefit!
Wake up, running cars and planes on food that could have been eaten by one of the 16,000 kids who die every day from starvation is idiotic!
While most of the world’s industrialized nations are modernizing agricultural production methods and encouraging through subsidies greater food crop production rather than the growth of feed stock for livestock, the Unites States is turning food into fuel for automobiles. Even today the Pentagon announced the test flight of an F18 fighter jet which will run on biofuels. While JP4, the current fuel of choice for high performance aircraft is $3.50 a gallon the new biofuels are only $36 a gallon, and require more energy to produce than they are capable of creating. Not only are the biofuels much more expensive but they have the added benefit of taking food from the mouths of starving people. Obviously this stance is unsustainable in the long run and undermines American national security by depriving our nation of the opportunity to aid the starving, thus winning the hearts and minds of a new generation. In addition to the ludicrous biofuels the U.S. Department of Agriculture still pays farmers not to grow crops, in the form of market subsidies to maintain lower food production. These actions and others like them leave the doors open to those who can and will use our actions rather than our words to define us.
Greed has been with humanity from the onset and remains part of the human condition. To address the issue of greed and the divisions it creates will require man to be aware, and the few will not allow awareness. The schools, churches, governments and social movements are all tools of the few to perpetuate the system which perpetuates their greed and power.
The most significant social issue facing the humankind in the 21st century is the intentional division of the masses by the investor class. The perpetuation of the myth that capitalism is good by the capitalist class is baffling. The message that somehow greed is beneficial to mankind is troubling. The evolution of modern society is being held hostage by special interests not only in the United States and the rest of the industrialized world but also in every 3rd world dictatorship. These are the capitalists who bring you wars for another people’s resources, financial inequity to enrich each other and allow famine and epidemics to preserve the bottom line. For a dollar a share they will lay off 100,000 workers and ship the jobs to Mexico, and once Mexico becomes too expensive China and India. Beneath the surface of each and every issue one can raise as a potential social problem runs the current of greed. All the world’s social issues can be traced back to the affects and or byproducts of greed. More money for one means less for another, more food, more liberty, more control, more for one always means less for someone else. Resources are not unlimited the supply is always finite, and control of resources means less for most and much more for the few.
The system exists to benefit the few and is perpetuated by those same few who control what you hear, what you see, what you think and what you learn. The game is rigged, sure you can form a fringe group and make noise but your message will not be heard, your voice will not be allowed to threaten the system which the few control. From time to time one of the few will stand up and point to a lesser issue and cry for your action to help, all designed to divert your attention. You are a pawn, a serf, a minion. As in Rome the masses are distracted by games and entertainment so they do not see the wool in front of their eyes. There is no movement to address the true inequity that unbridled capitalism creates because the few send you messages that you can one of them, just buy a lottery ticket, or work hard come up with the next big idea. The system insures that you’re happy being exploited alongside your friends at the country club, because they show you images of those who are far worse off. This myth of capitalism breads social injustice. Speak out and be jailed challenge the system and be branded a traitor or simply led into the woods with a shovel to dig your own shallow grave accompanied by men who think they are one of the few, minions all.
The impact of media on society
The impact of media on modern society can trace its roots to the inflammatory works of authors Thomas Paine and Jean Jacques Rousseau. In an age where kings ruled every nation on the planet these men authored and published works which changed the course of human events. Faced with execution for crimes against the crown Paine and Rousseau wrote on despite the risks to life and liberty.
We have come a long way since the 18th century from a media stand point no longer is the media merely the printing press with movable type. In the 21st century we have print, television, radio, movies and the internet screaming at us 24hrs a day. We live in an age where a slow speed car chase occurring thousands of miles away masquerades as breaking news. Beamed via billion dollar telecommunications satellites to your television, several experts offer a running commentary of the irrelevant event taking place half a world away. Today’s news and media coverage of world events is fast if nothing else, I mean if a cat is stuck in a tree in central Ohio we will know about it before lunch and before dinner we will have heard from the cats owner, seen the cat’s kittens and heard experts from the ASPCA and Arbor Society debate the value and safety of possible extraction methods.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world one hundred US and international firebases in Afghanistan have come under intense attack from the Taliban, and in Washington a billionaire CEO of the world’s largest corporation has a senator put an earmark in a spending bill building him a bridge at tax payer expense. (Shah)So who decides what is news and why that darn cat is so important while my friends and your tax dollars aren’t? The media of course, but who are the media exactly and what incentive would they have to steer you away from the real story of the day and onto the poor cat stuck in a tree. The media today are not the hundreds of radio and television stations or the thousands of internet sites or even the production companies who make movies, the media today are in fact only nine international conglomerates, these nine multinationals are not in the news business they are in business period. The boards of directors of these nine multinationals are populated with CEO’s of the worlds other great multinationals, not Walter Cronkite. Firms like Exxon Mobile, General Electric, Microsoft, Archer Daniels Midland and Boeing determine what you see and hear.
In today’s world the classic “Common Sense” would not get a second look at any publishing house, not because they don’t want to publish it, because they can’t, they can’t because of the economics of the marketplace and the ownerships ties to the political powers that ensure their continued monopoly and utter domination of the media. The advertisers cannot be upset, no marketing executive want his or her commercials running after a news story which contains video of US Soldiers being dragged through the streets of Kandahar, so we simply don’t see it. A free press no longer exists in American life, free being the operative word. Opinion pieces are driven by one side of the argument or the other even “factual” reporting is tainted by high powered commercial enterprises in today’s media world. True media and news objectivity no longer exists. Richard Nixon would never have been impeached had he been president within today’s media environment, want proof look at the actions of the last president. Yet, the people are unaware as the media runs headlong in search of the next “cat in a tree” or Britney Spears story under the guise of breaking news. The commercial enterprise that is today’s media is simply that a commercial enterprise. News is a profit center not a public service ,attack the messenger has been replaced by purchase the messenger and shape the news to make your advertisers happy.
Works Cited Shah, Anup. Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership. 2nd January 2009. 6th November 2009 .
Barry Goldwater a true Conservative, these new guys (not so much)
Somewhere along the line, the “conservative” movement lost its way, as an Arizonan I was raised to be self-reliant, independent, and patriotic. As a youngster I had the opportunity to meet Barry Goldwater on several occasions as he lived only a mile or two away from my parents. He was Arizona to the core, a cowboy-poet, a thinker and most of all a man of action, he is known best to most for his Conservative Values “before that meant forcing your religion on other people”, to me his photographs of Arizona are as lasting a legacy as his legislative accomplishments. A complex man and true American Icon, how can the man who stated “I see no problem with gays in the military”, also be the father on Modern Conservatism? Simply put, Senator Barry Goldwater was a man of no contradictions, that’s how, he believed in freedom from government not freedom through government like so many of today’s “conservatives”. After 37 years in the military he would know best if gays in the military were an issue don’t you think. “The big thing is to make this country, along with every other country in the world with a few exceptions, quit discriminating against people just because they’re gay,”. “You don’t have to agree with it, but they have a constitutional right to be gay. And that’s what brings me into it.”-Barry M. Goldwater, Senator, Hero, Patriot. Can you imagine any of today’s politicians who are not gay making this statement? What does this have to do with conservative values, its simple, being conservative means, don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, and I won’t tell you what you can and can’t do, if its not addressed in the Constitution its not addressed.
The fact is we have lost our way and if we don’t find it soon we as a nation are done. I don’t mean vote for Republicans, or vote for this guy because he says he is a conservative, I mean we have to address the issues we are facing. In 2021, we will pay off the first gulf war, and some time after that say 20 years we will have paid off this current conflict. We will be buried in debt from the “great society” programs for all time, and I include George W. Bush’s prescription drug benefit in that list of unconstitutional socialist “great society” programs. He was by no means conservative, he was and remains an idiot! What would Goldwater have done in the last 8 years had he been President from 2001-2009? We can be sure that Iraq would not have happened and that the trillion dollar drug bill for seniors would not have passed, also I am confident that Katrina would have been handled in a more professional manner not by some guy who had only run horse shows before taking the job. Had, 9/11 happened on Barry’s watch Osama Bin Laden would be dead, or worse for his cause, locked up in a jail like a common criminal where he belongs.
‘An American Original’
“A stickler for the Constitution, Mr. Goldwater refused to join the Republicans of the New Right during the 1980s when they began to press for legislation that would limit the authority of the federal courts to curb organized prayer in public schools or to order busing for school integration. ” -Bart Barnes, Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 30, 1998; Page A01
Barry Goldwater in his own words,
From his prophetic 1964 speech,(Link above) in which he told the leaders of the Soviet Union that his children would never live under communism, and that their children would live under freedom, to his ground breaking and lasting Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act, Barry Goldwater was a man of vision and a patriot.
Now, as a father of three boys all under 18 years of age, I worry about the future of this country, we the people, have entrusted our nation to the hands of idiots and corporate lawyers turned congressmen and Senators. We are swayed by fancy talk and bogus promises into voting for men and women who have a constituency not of “we the people” but of corporate interests. Cash is not free speech, corporate cash is surely not free speech. If a congressman or Senator takes more then $10 dollars from any one person or group he should be prosecuted for corruptionperiod. Return American to the American people, remember for every new law passed their are winners, those who wrote it and paid to have it sponsored, and losers, the rest of us who pay for it and get nothing in return, not even representation. What if Idiots didn’t run the world?
Homeland Security my a@@!
Former Director of Homeland Security (R) Tom Ridge has a new book to sell, and thus he is releasing juicy tidbits of information to the professional media in hopes of hyping the book and creating guest appearance opportunities for himself on TV news shows. I for one, envy the man for his absolutely ridiculous new found honesty. Look, as Director of Home Land Security he told us to buy duct tape and bottled water, assisted in the creation of the colored “threat level” chart, and took a paycheck from you the American Taxpayer, oh and now he wants you to buy his book to discover the truth behind his actions?
Once upon a time I raised my right hand and swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America from all enemies foreign and domestic, Mr. Ridge has done the same, but I guess when he took the oath it was to protect the party, and the President not the Constitution. That statement may appear harsh to some of you, but I am guessing you have never taken the oath, for if you had sworn to defend the Constitution you would understand what his recent revelations mean. Lets go back to August of 2004, a Decorated Combat Veteran has just won the Democratic nomination for President, and within 12 hours of his acceptance speech, the national threat alert is raised. CNN, and the other media monkeys are all over the series of leaked tips of potential terrorist threats, none of which are valid or even remotely threatening to any of us who grew up practicing duck and cover at school in case of a Soviet Nuclear attack, but the coverage goes on and on. What’s the big deal you say, well historically the Presidential Candidates have enjoyed a bump after a nominating convention, John Kerry not so much as a blip. Why was this the case in 2004, because instead of covering his VP choice, or running segments of his acceptance speech the cable news ran stories about potential subway bombers, and the national threat level being raised! Who raised the threat level, well Tom Ridge did and why did he do it, he says he did it because he was told to by the Office of the President, according to Ridge he was not even present and the National Security Council Meeting where this was discussed, oh nor was the CIA Head George Tenant, so who was and why did they raise the “threat level”? Ridge claims the meeting actually took place in the Vice Presidents Office of all places and no one was invited, but as a good party man he raised the threat level anyway. Now he tells us, what the $%^&?
Do yourself a favor, don’t buy this guys book, just send him the receipt for the duct tape and plastic you bought, or better yet send him the duct tape, COD! And for those of you under 40 yes, we did practice hiding under our desks to avoid being vaporized by Soviet Nukes, I believe Jimmy Carter stopped the practice in 1976 thinking that it was too scary for kids to know that some Russian guy with huge eyebrows, and I mean huge, had 20,000 nuclear missiles pointed at them. The truth of the matter is, the duck and cover drills where not as scary as some idiot getting on TV and telling people to buy duct tape and seal themselves into their homes for no good reason other then to win an election, that is truly scary and a complete subversion of the democratic process. From where I sit Mr. Ridge is a traitor, before the book I thought he was just an guy doing his job, being manipulated by those around him, but not anymore by his own words he was a willing participant, and that is treason.
Did you see the Daily show Health Care Segment? If not watch it on my site.
Covering the news in a satirical manner is what the Daily Show does best. Check the video on the right, in 7 minutes its sums up the Health Care reform debate so well, watch it for yourself. (video is licensed by my site not pirated with a link)
In the age of instant news, what is news and who decides?
As large multinational corporations dominate the television news business, who decides what is news and why? Is this corporate ownership of the messages the news relays to us or creates for us a new phenomenon?
The simple answer is……… Hell, if you want the simple answer turn on CNN Headline News ( A time Warner Production),and if you want the right wing answer turn on FOX News (A News Corp Production). If on the other hand, you want the left wing answer turn on MSNBC (A General Electric PRODUCTION). But where is the truth, try the Daily Show a Comedy Central Production, ok its really a VIACOM Production.
So who decides what is news and what is not?
The answer is buried somewhere in between the multitude of Rihanna and Chris Brown stories and the live high speed chase from Los Angeles.(hint, its not the news broadcast its the commercials) So, if after watching thirty minutes of cable news you become depressed because it appears that the world is falling apart, relax its not. (Somehow, the car commercial follows the high-speed chase story, and the bad news on the housing market is followed by the latest anti depressant commercial). If it appears as if the television is talking to you, it may be if you are unstable, but for most of us its not. It’s not the TV thats talking to us its the advertising on the TV. I find it strange that the latest crime statistics are followed as if on queue by a home security system commercial, its because it is on queue. The reality of the news business is that it is a business, and in the struggle between news and business, well we know who is going to win out. So remember, the cable news networks are in business to sell advertising. So while you may love the opinion from your favorite MSNBC or Fox News anchor, remember it’s not his opinion it’s the networks. Your guy or gal is just reading a teleprompter, for the most part and the messagebeing read is carefully orchestrated to avoid alienating the almighty sponsors, while keeping hold of that target demographic to deliver the best numbers, for the advertisers.
This is true except for Glen Beck, he is an idiot for calling a half white and half black President, who supports imigration reform, a racist and now twenty advertisers and counting have pulled their sponsorship of his “news” program, if he keeps his job, that my friends will be the news.
So what’s the news, the news is while you were distracted by a football game or some bogus rant on television about gay marriage, the congress passed The Patriot Act, which is so unconstitutional its hilarious, we went to War in Iraq because of Weapons of Mass distraction, and some CEO’s granted themselves another two-hundred billion dollars in cash and stock options for fleecing millions of Americans out of their jobs, health insurance and homes. The real breaking news, is we as a nation are so dysfunctional and undeserving of the liberties our founding fathers risked live and limb for it’s sickening. We the people have given to these corporations and the frontmen that represent them in congress, all of our individual rights and freedoms and for what?
“Wait the news is on, I have to go.”
What can two quotes from the 1700′s teach us about today?
“As soon as public service ceases to be the chief business of the citizens, and they would rather serve with their money than with their persons, the State is not far from its fall” -Jean-Jacques Rousseau quotes (French philosopher and writer whose novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution, 1712-1778)
Given the fact that this quote comes from a Frenchman, and his words were spoken before our Nation was even founded what can it teach us?
Compare the thoughts behind words of Rousseau to those of our founding father;
“If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions.” Thomas Jefferson
We’ve all studied the historical events in which both of these men were involved. We may or may not have contemplated the effects that Rousseau’s words had on Thomas Jefferson or for that matter on the birth of our nation, but without Rousseau the United States of America may never have happened. For Rousseau was the first man to speak truth to power, and did so in a time when the King could have your head with the mere snap of his fingers and face no consequences for doing so. Yet he wrote on, inspiring common men to revolutionary action, both in Europe and here in America.
Now to the quotes and what I see them to mean today; Get involved be active in your democracy, let no paid spokesman represent you, for when he does a little bit of our democracy dies, as Jefferson states himself if we, the people are not participating and aware of the actions of our representatives they will become wolves and we the sheep not worthy of the gifts our founding fathers bestowed upon us, Liberty and Freedom.
Do not mistake he whom speaks loudest for he who speaks the truth-Bill Gardner
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